Katherine Carol turns 11!

Little KC is turning 11. I brought lunch and cupcakes to her school yesterday to celebrate, which reminded me why I teach high school, not elementary. Actually, her class was very well behaved. I had to fill out a form for the child nutrition office about the cupcakes (where was I bringing them? why was I bringing them? where did I buy them?) and put the ingredient label onto the form. Unreal. Because we all know that childhood obesity is largely due to birthday cupcakes at school, rather than hours spent playing video games and eating meals from a drive-through window. Ahem.

Here is KC with her fifth grade class at lunch:



And here is the birthday girl sharing the cupcakes in question with her class:



I managed to save one cupcake for my littlest cupcake, who BTW just got her ears pierced last week:



Anyway, after grumbling a bit that KC should be celebrating me since I'm the one who did all the work 11 years ago (which she reminded me was the purpose of Mother's day), I tried to really look at her and see her as an 11 year old. I think moms tend to keep memories of our children in our heads, young and beautiful (for which I am grateful to my mother). But when I really looked at her, I saw that in many ways she is even more beautiful than I realized. KC has a strong spirit . . . she always has.

The day she arrived, way back in 1997, she stopped breathing and they had to put her on a ventilator. We were so afraid we would lose her. I can remember going into the NICU to see my giant baby (she was 8 lbs 6 oz, in a world of preemies) and thinking how tiny and vulnerable she looked. But she was a fighter right from the start. They had to put tiny restraints on her arms to keep her from pulling the wires and tubes out, and she'd try to crawl away from the oxygen tent to mount her escape. Once we were allowed to hold her, she was the most gentle, calm baby. As long as we didn't stick any needles or tubes in her, she was content to just be.

I think that's one of the things I admire most about KC. She has the strength to just be. It's not that important to her what anyone else thinks about her. She is who she is, and I love that about her. She was born an old soul, and I think it gives her a serenity and peace that I admire (and envy). It's as if she stared fate in the face right out of the gate and won, and every subsequent day is a gift. It certainly is to me. She is truly a gift from God, and I am thankful that on May 20, 1997, He gave me my beautiful, graceful, beloved Katherine Carol.

Happy birthday, KitCat! I love you!